


A Hanging Denied

by MBlair



Series: What If? [2]
Category: Pirates of the Caribbean (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Oneshot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:08:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26483185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MBlair/pseuds/MBlair
Summary: DMC Canon-Divergent: As Elizabeth is sentenced to the hangman's noose, will a past lover be able to save her?
Relationships: James Norrington/Elizabeth Swann
Series: What If? [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1925296
Comments: 7
Kudos: 38





	A Hanging Denied

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again, all! Here's another story set in the PoTC universe. 
> 
> This is part two of my new What If? series, which explores changing one or two minor, sometimes major, parts of the story and exploring what could happen then. I hope you all enjoy and please don't forget to comment!

“Sir. A note for you, from the Fort.”

James looked up at his young valet, the man holding a small note with the Governor’s seal pressed upon it. He had barely been home a few hours, only just enough time to be refreshed with a needed warm freshwater bath and a small meal, but it was enough to now handle any matters that were now required of him. He took the letter and held it in his hands for a few long moments, thinking of the woman he had left behind and who the letter was likely about…

Elizabeth.

It had been easy to keep her from his thoughts on his few weeks away at sea, chasing pirates across the West Indies before losing them on the outer winds of a hurricane. Jack Sparrow was surely dead, for no one who sailed into a storm such as they witnessed could have survived for long, but now that he had returned, she was all that was on his mind. She was surely married to the blacksmith Turner by now, the two of them looking closer than ever when he had left to chase the escaped pirate, so there was no reason to believe or hope that she would be thinking of him.

Shifting his focus back to the letter, he opened it with care are unfolded it to read the urgent matter contained within. James knew that Governor Swann would not have written him so soon after his return if it were not truly important, the other man valued both their time and energy too much for that. All thought left his mind when he read the letter, finding not an urgent note from Governor Swann but a short and defeated one from Elizabeth. Getting to his feet, he rushed to compose himself properly and left for the fort, leaving the letter to drop down gently to the floor.

_James,_

_I am sure by the time you receive this, you will have already been made aware of my present predicament. Will is gone and I am set to hang for my part in recent events with Jack Sparrow. I am not writing this to ask for your aid or pardon, for I know that I do not deserve such kindness after how I treated you. I only wish to ask...if you still have any heart for me at all, in friendship or otherwise, to please come to see me. One last time._

_Affectionately yours,_

_Elizabeth_

* * *

“Ah, Commodore. Please do come in,” an unpleasantly familiar voice said from just outside his office. The man himself sat in the chair behind his desk, watching him with eyes sparkling with amusement. “I see you’ve returned safely from your hunt.”

“I have, Lord Beckett,” James replied, his tone short. He took off his hat briefly to bow to both other occupants in the room, sparing a long look at Elizabeth. She appeared to be unharmed, but something in him said otherwise. Perhaps it was the part of him that still loved her despite her public rejection or another that cared for her safety as a citizen under his protection. No matter what, it was still Elizabeth.

“Are you well, Miss Swann,” he asked, needing the assurance from her that she had not been harmed while he was not around to stop it. He watched her face as a small smile appeared on her lips, from the formality or the question, he didn’t know. Much to James’ displeasure, it vanished nearly as soon as it appeared.

“I am. Thank you, Commodore.” 

Before he could ask anything else of her, Beckett again brought the attention back to himself with a rather obnoxious, at least in James’ opinion, clearing of his throat. 

“Now that we are _all_ present,” he began, a glinting eye turning to James, “We can now discuss the matter of Miss Swann. Unless you two would continue your less than subtle _tête-à-tête_.”

James turned a glare back to the significant _annoyance_ that was sitting at his desk. “What are the charges?”

“Conspiracy to commit piracy and conspiracy to free a man convicted of piracy,” Elizabeth said after a long silence, taking care not to look at her father or James. She didn’t want to see the look of pain and fear that seemed ever-present on her father’s face or whatever emotion this news might strike in James’. “To which the punishment is..,”

“Death,” Beckett finished with a barely concealed grin. “Though I must say, I am quite impressed with how you managed to talk your way out of an arrest warrant for yourself. How did you it?”

“That’s not nearly as relevant as to what authority you have come to arrest this woman. If you have read any reports on the matter, especially my own, you would know that she was innocent in nearly all concerning it. It’s Sparrow and Turner you want,” he replied, not looking at Elizabeth. “I simply told my side of things, the truth in all matters. The hurricane that hit the next day gave credence to my story. As you would know if you _read the report._ ”

Both men stared at each other, seeming at an impasse. James knew that Beckett was on the edge of his authority, ordering executions for those who were under the protection of King and Country for crimes they did not commit. A fair trial would prove that, assuming one would have occurred. He was sure Beckett also knew of his attachment to Elizabeth. Perhaps this was more than just an elimination of piracy, but also…a test of loyalties.

Loyalty to the Crown, or to the woman he loved most?

There was only one answer.

“What do you want?”


End file.
